Something
that I have noticed recently is how people seem to be getting
more and more health conscious. They appear to be increasingly
aware of the need to maintain a healthy life style by eating
more healthily and also how even the bare minimum of exercise
can be beneficial. I am no believer in extreme dieting or
a back breaking exercise regime but both in moderation must
be worth trying to achieve.

What I
have heard and read, is that once you start exercising, you
actually feel good afterwards. This is supposed to be partially
attributable to the release of endorphins ("endogenous
morphine") that our body produces naturally. Endorphins
are chemicals produced in the brain in response to a variety
of stimuli, and are thought to be nature's cure for high levels
of stress. Discovered in 1975, endorphins are among the brain
chemicals known as neurotransmitters, which function in the
transmission of signals within the nervous system. At least
20 types of endorphins have been demonstrated in humans, and
they may be located in the pituitary glands, other parts of
the brain, or distributed throughout the nervous system. So
prolonged, continuous exercise like running, long-distance
swimming, aerobics, or cycling appears to contribute to an
increased production and release of endorphins. This results
in a sense of euphoria that has been popularly labeled the
"runner's high."

In fact
I finally convinced myself that doing a little bit of exercise
would be good for me and decided to take action by booking
myself into a gym! The minute I took the decision to become
a member of our local gym, it instantly gave me a feeling
of well being! I hadn't even begun exercising and seemed to
be producing endorphins! The fact that the gym was within
walking distance and a few of our friends were also members
helped in the decision making process. The first step was
to actually take a look at the facilities and try it out before
signing on the dotted line. My husband accompanied me as he
probably felt that on my own I would probably never actually
make it to my destination. When we arrived at the health centre,
we were greeted by the staff, given our towels and shown where
to locate the changing rooms, gym area and swimming pool.
The sight of so many people working out in such a dedicated
fashion was quite intimidating. So I decided that the safest
option for me was to use one of the exercise bicycles as I
did not want to provide light entertainment to the other members
by flying off the treadmill or showing my ignorance by not
knowing how to use the different types of equipment.

As I got
on the bike, I was confronted by a whole array of buttons
and instructions. "Quick Start", "fat burn",
"cardio", "random" (come on, what exactly
was random supposed to mean?) were only a few of the options
in front of me. Finally I saw the word "manual"
and pressed it hoping it was the right one and started pedalling.
After a minute I kept getting the message, "put hands
on the sensors for heart rate" flashing on the screen
in front of me. The problem was I had no idea where the sensors
were! There were half a dozen people behind me on the treadmills
and must have thought I was mad as I tried putting my hands
on various parts of the bike hoping to find the sensors. I
couldn't even catch my husband's eye to help me out so I spent
the next few minutes placing my hands here and there with
no luck. The time given on the machine was twenty minutes
but after ten minutes I was totally out of breath and my legs
felt like jelly so I just gave up and dragged myself off the
bike. As I had no idea how use the other weight machines I
did a few sit ups and tried to look like I was busy until
my husband joined me. Subsequently, we both joined and have
been back a few times after having an induction session with
an instructor who showed me how to use the different machinery
and put me on a relatively manageable regime. Yes, I have
figured out where the sensors are on the bike and figured
out what "random" means.

For those
of you, who are not doing any exercise whatsoever, just try
it. You really don't even have to join a gym; you can just
start with a few freehand exercises like touching your toes,
doing sit ups etc and you will notice the difference within
weeks. My husband is at this point wondering if I am an impostor
as I have been so anti-exercise in the past that my advocacy
of exercise is unthinkable. So don't waste time and go and
release some of those endorphins…